The present invention relates generally to weight-lifting exercise machines, and is particularly concerned with exercise arms for such machines for use in performing upper body exercises.
Various upper body exercises are performed for exercising different upper body muscle groups, such as pectoral (pec) fly, rear deltoid, chest press, and mid row exercises.
Originally, these upper body exercises were performed using hand-held weights. For pec fly and rear deltoid exercises, independent weights known as dumbbell were held in each hand. Chest press and mid row exercises could be performed using either a barbell, where a single weight is controlled by both hands, or two separate dumbbell. In a pec fly exercise, the exerciser would lie on a bench facing upwards with a weight in each hand, arms extended out to the side, and palms facing up, with the elbows bent. The exerciser would then lift the weights to bring the dumbbell together over their body with a slight arcing or elliptical pattern to the movement. For a rear deltoid exercise, the exerciser would lie face down on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand, with their arms straight down, palms facing each other, and elbows slightly bent. Keeping the arms in the same bent position, the exerciser would lift the weights until their arms were straight out to the side.
In order to perform a chest press using dumbbell, the exerciser would lie face up on a bench with a weight in each hand, arms to each side with elbows bent and hands close to the chest. The exerciser would then push the weights up, bringing the dumbbell together over their body in a slight arcing or elliptical movement. In a mid row exercise, the exerciser would bend over at the waist with a weight in each hand, arms hanging straight down, and hands together with the palms facing each other. Staying in the bent position, the user would then pull the weights up to chest level with a slight arcing or elliptical pattern to the movement.
Various exercise machines have been designed in order to duplicate one or more of the free weight, upper body exercises such as pec fly, rear deltoid, chest press, and mid row. Typically, these machines have pivoted arms linked to an exercise resistance. There are several problems in attempting to combine two or more of the upper body exercises with a single exercise arm assembly, due to the different motions which must be accommodated for each exercise.
The earliest pec fly machine had two independent exercise arms pivotally mounted on a frame above the user""s head. The arms were generally L-shaped with a pivot shaft attached to the end of one leg of the L and a pad or roller attached to the other leg. The user sat on a seat mounted on the frame with their upper arms parallel to the floor and forearms bent 90 degrees at the elbow. With their forearms resting against the pads, the user rotated their arms forward until they came together. Since the exercise arms had only one pivot, they could only move in a concentric or circular pattern, and the arms were non-adjustable for different users. In order to perform a rear deltoid exercise on this machine, a user would sit facing the rear of the machine, placing their elbows on the pads, and trying to rotate their arms rearwards. This was a cramped, uncomfortable position which did not allow a full range of motion, and was of marginal value from an exercise point of view.
In view of the limitations of the earliest pec fly machine in performing rear deltoid exercises, a separate rear deltoid machine was designed, which allowed users to fully extend their arms and perform a full range of exercise motion. This machine had a second pivot to pivotally mount a handle at the bottom of the second leg of the L-shaped arm. The handle was T-shaped, with the bottom of the T pivotally secured to the exercise arm and the grip portion of the handle comprising the top of the T and oriented vertically. This machine could also be used for pec fly exercises, and had the advantage that the user""s hands were placed in a more natural position.
A combination pec fly/rear deltoid machine encounters difficulties due to the fact that the two exercise movements are different. In the rear deltoid exercise, the natural position for the arms is fairly straight with a slight bend or break at the elbows throughout the entire movement, which is circular or concentric. In a pec fly exercise, the natural movement is more elliptical, since the starting width of the exerciser""s grip is closer to their body at the beginning of the exercise than at the end. In order to function properly for both exercises, the original combination machines had to have a T handle short enough to provide the necessary pre-stretch for a rear deltoid exercise. This handle was not quite long enough to provide the swing necessary for the proper elliptical arc on a pec fly exercise.
In later machines, the rotating handle was eliminated and replaced with a swing arm, which hinged at the elbow of the L-shaped exercise arm. The second pivot was perpendicular to the first pivot at the top of the exercise arm, and at the same elevation as the first pivot. Pads or handles were mounted to the swing arms to engage the user""s forearms or hands.
Various machines have also been designed for performing press type exercises. U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,072 of Webber describes an exercise apparatus with an exercise arm assembly for performing chest press and mid row exercises. A pair of swing arms are pivoted at opposite sides of a U-shaped, pivoted yoke. Various alternative configurations are described, including some in which the swing arms have two pivoting sections. All the designs have parallel pivots and cannot provide a converging, pulling exercise movement. This design will not work for a combination machine with pushing/pulling converging movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,896 of Jones describes an exercise machine for performing incline press exercises which has independent, fixed arc, converging exercise arms. This can be used for only one type of exercise. U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,252 of Simonson describes independent, single piece exercise arms that travel in a fixed arc and can be used for performing chest press exercises. The handles are rigidly secured to the exercise arms.
None of the prior art exercise machines for performing upper body exercises have exercise arms which can readily duplicate the motions required for both pushing and pulling exercises, and which can adjust readily for user""s arm length and desired starting pre-stretch. Additionally, the handles provided in prior art machines often have limited or no ability to adjust to the most natural hand/wrist position throughout the entire exercise movement. A number of prior art machines allow only one, fixed hand position during the entire exercise, and allow little or no adjustment of the arc of the exercise movement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved exercise arm assembly for an exercise machine which can be used for either pushing or pulling exercises, or used on a combination machine for performing both types of exercise.
According to the present invention, an exercise arm apparatus is provided which comprises a pair of exercise arm assemblies, each arm assembly having a main arm having a first end for pivoting on a frame of an exercise machine for pivoting about a first pivot axis, a swing arm having a first end pivoted to the main arm for pivoting about a second pivot axis, and a handle pivoted to the swing arm for pivoting about a third pivot axis, each pivot axis being perpendicular to the other two pivot axes.
In prior art exercise arm assemblies with multiple pivots, there were always at least two pivot axes extending parallel to one another. In the present assembly, the perpendicular, tri-pivot system, in which each pivot axis is perpendicular to both of the other pivot axes, provides a multi-dimensional exercise arm which can perform both concentric and eccentric exercise movements. Preferably, the first pivot axis is vertical while the other two are horizontal, perpendicular pivot axes. Because of this, the handles can be positioned so that they are on the inboard side of the swing arms, facing the user, at all times. This allows the handles to be completely adjustable and self-aligning during either a pec fly or rear deltoid exercise, and provides the user with an unlimited number of hand positions.
Preferably, the main arm has a downwardly angled bend, so that the swing arm hinges to the main arm below the level at which the main arm pivots to the frame. The swing arm preferably also has an angled bend, so that it angles outwardly from its pivotal connection to the main arm, and then downwardly to the handle. This allows the second pivot axis to be brought in closer to the exerciser, while still allowing the swing arm and handles to swing out wide enough to perform the various exercises correctly. The swing arms are free swinging and are not affected by the resistance, nor do they affect the resistance.
The rotation of the swing arm about the second pivot axis is preferably limited by a range limiting system, comprising a pin connected to one of the arms and a pair of spaced end stops on the other arm to engage the pin as the swing arm is rotated in opposite directions about the second pivot axis. Preferably, the end stops are arranged to define a first, inner end position of the swing arm in which it is positioned in a generally vertical orientation and a second, outer end position of the arm in which it is angled outwardly. The second end position is designed to restrict the outward movement of the swing arm so as to prevent contact with the machine frame.
The handle preferably has a pivoting grip mounted perpendicular to the third, or handle, pivot axis. The grip pivots freely about its axis and allows the user to adjust their hand/wrist position at any time during the course of an exercise without causing strain or binding to the wrist.
The combination of pivoting grip, handle and swing arm allows the user to determine their ideal exercise path, and provides self-alignment during the course of the exercise movement. As the swing arms are raised, the handles will automatically adjust to keep the user""s hands in the most natural and comfortable position.
The independent, multi-pivoting exercise arms of this invention transform traditional, single plane rotary movement exercises into multi-plane elliptical movements that bring a greater number of muscle groups into play and increase their involvement for a more effective workout. The user can selectively perform single plane rotary and user defined elliptical and multi-plane movements, making the apparatus much more versatile than prior art exercise arm assemblies. The ability of the handles to adjust and self-align, providing an unlimited number of possible hand positions, is important for the comfort of the user, particularly when the apparatus is used in the medical/rehabilitation industry where certain injuries can preclude the use of a fixed hand position.